Day 51.
Please donate today.
Posted on 08/20/2013 12:11:59 PM PDT by cotton1706
Former Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) on Monday night urged voters to replace any Republican lawmaker unwilling to vote to defund ObamaCare during next month's budget showdown.
DeMint, the president of the Heritage Foundation, dismissed fears that Republicans would be blamed for a government shutdown, as they were in the 1990s.
“The risk of that is so much less than the risk to our country if we implement ObamaCare, and so I’m not as interested in the political futures of folks who think they might lose a showdown with the president,” DeMint said at a town-hall meeting hosted by Heritage Action, the think tank's political arm, in Fayetteville, Ark., the first stop on a nine-city tour.
DeMint said President Obama believes he has the upper hand in the coming fight.
“I think he knows that Republicans are afraid, and if they are, they need to be replaced,” DeMint told NPR in an interview after the event.
GOP lawmakers in both chambers are floating a plan to block any bill to fund the government if it includes money to roll out the president's healthcare reforms. But such a maneuver could risk a government shutdown, which many in the GOP believe would harm the party and not Obama. Many party leaders in both chambers have declined to sign on to the defunding strategy.
Some fear it is pointless to push through a bill, knowing that it does not have the votes to pass the Senate and is opposed by Obama. DeMint, however, questioned the assumption that the president would not sign the bill.
“Well we don’t know that do we?” he said at the town hall Monday.
DeMint resigned from Congress last year to lead Heritage Foundation. Heritage Action announced a $550,000 ad campaign Monday aimed at 100 House Republicans who have failed to sign on to a letter supporting the defunding strategy.
DeMint is no stranger to Republican infighting. The Senate Conservative Fund — a political action committee he founded but no longer runs — has been active in backing conservative candidates, sometimes in opposition to Republican incumbents.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), one of the leaders of the group championing the strategy in the Senate, will join one leg of the tour in Dallas later this week.
Over 90 percent of current Republican elected officials are faking us out with symbolism and tough words pretending to be conservative.
THEY MUST BE REPLACED....THEY MUST BE OPPOSED IN EVERY ELECTION PRIMARY AND GENERAL WITH A THIRD PARTY.
Yes, replace the gutless cowards!
Of all these guys, I have the strongest faith in DeMint. He knows when to push and when to sit back. Lee, Cruz and Paul are all really good, but I love to see Jim DeMint making the push.
Didn’t know Jim was still alive. I lost a lot of respect for him; he’s awfully quiet.
Forget changing the Republican party at the National level. Levin is right, we need to work and contribute at the State level.
Yes! Defunding this monster is our last chance at a free country.
When I see the republicans DEFUND ANYTHING WHATSOEVER, I’ll be back.
Replaced is too nice of a word.
Defund Obamacare bump!!
Democrats are Law-Less because Republicans are Ball-Less.
Thanks for this and other recent pings to the current status of the issue.
Support Cruz and REPLACE the others is all I can do...At least that is positive action.( My only way to survive is to stay positive!)
I am still looking for 9-11 event here in DC. All I hear about is the Million Muslim March...shudder! Tea Parties are active but seem to just be speakers over dinner meetings. They currently are active in local and statewide elections.
I agree would should continue to work at the stayed level but ee most stop working to place constitutional conservatives in congress. We must also work to gain back education and the media to some extent however impossible. We are Americans for goodness sakes we do things no others do because they ARE hard.
Stayed = state I hate phone keyboards and auto correct
Defund Obamacare bump!!Bumpin' yer BUMP!
The American people must like cowardly Republicans or they wouldn’t vote for so many of them.
Buuuuuump!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.